English to Persian (Farsi) Art/Literary History Matthew\'s Gospel

Greetings,

To take something literally is to take it by the letter. One of the accusations that Christians face is that of taking the Bible literally.

In point of fact, I don't think we should necessarily take the Bible literally: we should take the Bible as it intends us to take it. Sometimes it's plain wrong to take the Bible literally.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew 18&versi...
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

It would be pretty poor Christianity to count up to seventy-seven times and then withhold forgiveness the seventy-eighth time! And, of course, that's obviously not what Jesus had in mind.

All the best, and many thanks,

Simon